The Tokyo Commodity Exchange announced today that January 2014 trading volume averaged 81,932 contracts per day, up 4.3% from December 2013. Platinum gained 51% to 18,906 contracts and Rubber was up 10.1% to 10,001. These contracts helped overcome a drop in Gold, which fell 5.2% to 28,501 contracts and Crude Oil, which was down 6.9% to 3,357 contracts.
January saw some investment in Gold by those looking for a safe-haven, and by Asian participants buying physical metal. However, the market remained tepid overall and the Crude Oil market, with few noteworthy events, was also had a quiet month.
In the meantime, Platinum was active on growing demand in Asia for platinum jewelry and as an alternative to Gold. Platinum mine strikes also invigorated the market. Volume in Rubber gained significantly due to a large drop in the value of the Thai Bhat, which created volatility and led to lower prices. Thailand is a major global rubber producer.
Open interest at the end of January 2014 for all listed products totaled 290,507 contracts, a decrease of 10,276 contracts (-6.11%) from the end of December 2013.
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